Cornelius Bumpus, 58; Musician With Doobie Brothers

Cornelius Bumpus, 58, a former member of the Doobie Brothers who played with Steely Dan and other bands, died of a heart attack Tuesday on a commercial flight from New York to California, where he was scheduled to perform in a series of concerts.

A respected musician who began playing saxophone at age 10 in his school band in Santa Rosa, Calif., Bumpus had a 1966 stint performing with Bobby Freeman, who wrote and sang “Do You Want to Dance?”

He joined a new incarnation of the 1960s band Moby Grape in 1977 and wrote a song for the “Live Grape” album. From 1979 through 1982, he was a touring and recording member of the Doobie Brothers, for whom he sang and played keyboards, flute, and tenor and alto sax. He also wrote “Thank You Love” for the group’s “One Step Closer” album.

Bumpus’ relations with his former Doobie Brothers bandmates soured in the late 1990s when the band sued him and several other musicians over their use of the Doobie Brothers name. In 1999, a federal judge ordered Bumpus and the others not to use the name.

After moving to New York City in 1986, he performed or recorded with numerous artists, including Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, Etta James, Hugh Masekela and the New York Rock and Soul Revue.

In recent years, he recorded two solo albums, toured with his own band and had stints playing with jazz fusion musician Jeff Lorber and country singer Lacy J. Dalton.